Fred Larson

FRED LARSON. - When we think of Fred Larson we immediately think of a clean, upright man, as not only is everything connected with his dairy life clean and wholesome, but he himself and his methods of doing business are irreproachable. Rosedale boasts of many business men of fine character, and Mr. Larson stands high in their esteem. He is possessed of good business abilities, and in the various lines of work in which he has been engaged he has gained some valuable experience, which stands him in good stead in the business he now owns.

Mr. Larson is of Swedish birth, where his nativity occurred October 1, 1865. He is the son of Lars Larson and Hannah (Eich) Larson, the latter of whom died in 1869. Lars Larson was a native of Sweden, where he spent the whole of his life, being reared, married and buried there, and during his life he was engaged in agricultural pursuits.

Fred Larson's earliest recollections center around the farm where he was born and spent the first years of his life. He was a student in the public schools of his neighborhood, and after he had completed his course he assisted his father on the farm. When he was only four years old his mother died, so that the ties which bound him to the old home were not as close as they would have been otherwise, and when he had reached the age of twenty-three years he bade farewell to his father and to his old friends and acquaintances and started for the new world, where he hoped to become more independent than he could ever expect to be in Sweden, where a man cannot possibly arise above his surroundings. On his arrival in the United States, in 1888, he came direct to Chicago, Illinois, but only stayed there a short time. He next went to Leavenworth, Kansas, where he was employed on the street commission force, and in 1891 he came to Rosedale, where he worked in the city as coachman for Adam Long and Mr. Roads, at different times. In 1892, having saved every cent of his earnings that he could spare, he bought four cows, a horse and wagon, and started in the dairy business. His success was rapid, and he now owns twenty cows, and sells about one hundred and seventy quarts of milk daily, some of which he bottles, but most of it is sold in bulk. He put up a building sixty by thirty feet, with accommodations for twenty-eight cows, and the whole building is in a clean, wholesome condition. Mr. Larson himself oversees all of the different operations, and he disposes of the milk himself. When he first started his business, he was located on Elys Hill, and there he remained five years, but he felt that he needed larger and better accomodations[sic] than that place afforded, and he moved to Southwest Boulevard, where he bought some property. The house is a good brick one, and the barn is also brick, and there he lives, at 331 Division street, and there he carries on his business.

In 1892, the year that Mr. Larson started in his dairy business, he made another radical change in his life, as he was united in marriage to Miss Tilda Sundoll, the daughter of Arwid Sundoll, and to this union five children, all boys, have been born. Their names are Harry, Victor, William, Clarence and Walter.

Mr. Larson is a member of the Joernan Lodge, in which he carries insurance. He has been called and has served on the grand jury in Wyandotte county. He is doing a good business in Rosedale, where he has many friends.